News

Foundry operator Castings has revealed it has £5.7m on deposit with Icelandic banks Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander, Heritable Bank (Landsbanki) and Glitnir.

The deposits are due to be repaid by the end of this year.

The company said that any loss incurred on these deposits will not have any effect on the ability of Castings to fund its current trading operations or its capital expenditure programme at William Lee.

Marketing group Creston said it is no longer in talks over a possible offer from a private equity firm.

Shares in Creston, which produces digital and on-line marketing, soared last month when it confirmed it is in talks over a possible offer.

New business activity continues to be positive and will be disclosed with an outlook statement in interim results, due on 27 November, Creston said in today's statement.

Irish luxury goods maker Waterford Wedgwood said 78.2% of shares have been taken up in an open offer to raise up to €101.7m.

Helius Energy said it has signed an option to lease an 18 acre site in Avonmouth Dock, on the Bristol Channel, for the proposed construction of a 100MWe biomass power plant.

Entertainment and events group and football agent First Artist said full-year EBITDA is likely to lower than current market expectations, coming in between £3.5m sand £3.7m.

The company said it was likely to feel the effects of the global banking crisis and credit crunch.

Oil explorer Oilex drilled deeper at its Sarha-2 well in Oman after discovering better than expected conditions.

Drilling on the well, in Block 56, has been completed after being extended by an additional 210 metres to incorporate additional horizontal oil pay in good quality sands interpreted beyond the planned total depth of 1930 metres.

A short term production test will be run to determine the well's output capability. Arrangements are being made for transit of the well's output by truck to a crude export terminal on the coast.

Body armour and security services provider Shieldtech catapulted higher on Monday after saying third quarter trading was up significantly on the corresponding period of 2007.

The company's body armour unit has received further orders worth £1.1m from a major overseas defence client, taking the group's order book up to £3.6m.

Global software company Macro 4 been approached by Unicom Systems, which could lead to an offer. "UNICOM confirms that it has approached the board of Macro 4 and that such approach may or may not lead to an offer being made by UNICOM for the entire issued ordinary share capital of Macro 4," said Unicom, which has a 16.4% stake in Macro 4.

Focus Solutions Group, solutions providers for financial services market, said it has performed well in the first half with sales up 25%.

The group said sales are expected to be around £25m, 25% higher than the same period last year. Operating profit before exceptionals is £0.7m compared to £0.5m in the same period last year.

"The group has significantly improved visibility of earnings, and is therefore in a robust position as it enters the second half of the year," it added.